The Tinderbox

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

Festival kickoff

The boys of Painted Fruit are out skateboarding or inside keeping up with the euro cup. In the morning they'll start mixing some new recordings made in Montreal. All afternoon they're on a promo junket, touring downtown Sault from Station Mall To Mill square, postering Albert and Gore, putting out the signal to promote business, community, and arts in this town for the next two weeks.

Festival Season is upon us.

Who knows what time it is? What day? Make more posters, need more time. Around two pm Michael Burtch honks at me from his van, pulls over and hands me a small jar of birtch syrup, sweet and precious. Hold onto a festival pass for me, he says, and drives away.

Here we go!

By three pm we are soggy, though Johnny de Courcey shows no sign of ever running out of steam. He gets lost talking to locals at the food court, and pages the junket over the intercom. He makes friends at the market and postcards for his mom. He vlogs intermittently and improvises arias, sings love songs to the Sault in the rain.

The flyers for tonight won't be ready till 430. After an accident took out a pole opposite one we'd postered less than an hour earlier, and the rain dampened a roof dog garbage run, Patrick picks us up at the mall and runs us over to the mill market to pick up supplies for Thursday's community dinner and night market.

At the market, Rihkee Strapp gives Johney, and Evan from Painted Fruit a quick look at their artwork on the market wall. We grab a slice of pizza and rip some promo.

Come out tonight and these fellows will play their hearts out for you. Come through in the next two weeks and well always have something going on.

Screw June Gloom. Let the festival begin!

Ppl

Thursday, 9 June 2016

Open during construction

My upstairs neighbour is caterwauling at 9:45 am. He is singing "the house of the rising sun" I have seen a grown man in white jungle gear perform the tune on Toronto's Quenn Street East. I have had my fill. Apparently Mr Zimmerman wrote this classic before the motorcycle crash.

Low n Slow, until June 23rd located at 113 Gore Street, is next to a large hole in the soft dirt and sewage soil. The bartender tells me tales of city workers and restaurant employees who have already tumbled into the dank abyss. I fear for when the summer chaos moves north of Albert.

The same metaphor appears twice in Douglas Adams' 'Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy'; the spaceship that has lost its sensor which detects meteors to a meteor strike, and the man whose name is scribbled across the flesh of his brain in His Own Handwriting.

These things float through my brain as i gaze into the quiet weekend pit. Gore Street is halfway consumed with sewer reconstruction now, and it is more common to see trucks and cars driving the wrong way, southwards, than to see them come up from Quenn or Albert. All the lights flash red, all the time.

And yet, today was a good day for brunch. And tonight there's some pretty sharp acts playing a show in the old sunsnine 'mat:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1629247117397496/?ti=cl

Smoke Eaters, touring east from Victoria, will be headlining. Their catchy brand of psyched out garage rock will soothe the damage done to my nervous system by the past couple weeks of truck-and-crane.

https://youtu.be/ERMaq803BVU

Opening up are local acts Great Chamberlain and Shit Creek Survivor, both slanging a grimy folk style that's straight-up Soo. The show is pay what you can, and doors are at 7.

One last shout out to the LnS crew, who are moving in a couple of weeks into the old Verdi Hall at 480 Albert West. I toast several "last pints" to you underneath the ceiling mirror, beneath Chad's old fun-pad. I've lived in the neighborhood almost two years now, and I've seen some changes. Is it fated that yoga, brunch, and tapas will all be available in the heart of what was once downtown Sault?

Sunday, 5 June 2016

Mayhemingways June 22nd

Had a rough time entertaining our new friends the Smoke Eaters this weekend. They played a little garage rock set in the laundromat two nights back, on their way westward with Petey at the wheel.

Everybody knows my cousin Mischa from Surprise Party, now check out Misha, Davie and Leigh, (on vox/bass, guitar/vox and drums) next time they roll up to rock a sweaty sud-shop near you.

Our mood was too dancey for Coch's, Lops was apparently at capacity at 1am, (great turnout for My Son The Hurricane) and the band at Reggie's played their last number at 1:30. These young musicians just wanted to go out dancing on a Saturday night, but Top Hat is guarded by a robot that only accepts photo ID.

And now the news:

Our latest experiment in community arts and culture is called the Fortnight Festival, and it runs for most of the second half of June. There will be about ten live music events, community dinners, a street party, Dj Seith's Refind dance night, a live talk show featuring local arts and culture makers: see fb and search #fortnightfestival and #openduringconstruction for more news.

The focus this summer is on increasing traffic to Gore Street during the sewage and street repairs. Come support local businesses like Toni's Cakery, Vixens Couture, Mr M's Furniture, Darcy's Clearance shop, Algoma inkjet, and IM Interested in Old Things. Food, entertainment, vintage shopping, pet care, yoga, and the only 24 hour convenience in downtown Sault. It's a happening block:-)

And now a short talk with Benj, singer/guitarist/ banjoer and pedal bassist of the Mayhemingways, who first stopped into the Gore Street Café for some brunch last summer after a gig at 180

Hello!

Hey

Sam: This isn't your first time playing the Soo, or even playing on Gore Street, is it?

Benj: no, we've played here before quite a few times. Last time was at 180 projects. We've played loplops in the past as well.

Sam: is it your first laundromat gig?

Benj: (For myself) personally, I can say it's not my first time playing in a laundromat. Some friends and I played a show at the villa auto wash in peterborough, A couple years ago. It's the kind of laundromat that always seems vacant, so we didn't ask the owners. We just put up posters and played a show. And washed some clothes. There may be a video on YouTube if I can find it...

http://youtu.be/aQbdFVO7y6U
( this is that laundromat show)

Sam: What do you prefer to eat when you're on the road?

Benj: I don't know yet. For a while I tried to eat made-up salads from grocery stores. But now the thought of those things is gross.

Sam: How long have the Mayhemingways been active?

Benj: This band has been together 4 years roughly.

Sam: How far are you travelling on this tour?

Benj: We're traveling between st John's nl. And Revelstoke is as far west as we get this time

Sam: Thanks for taking the time to chat! Looking forward to seeing you play next week, it's gonna be great!

The Mayhemingways are playing next Wednesday, June 22nd at Gore Street Café, with Blue Moon Marquee.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1032345896855178/?ti=cl

Friday, 3 June 2016

dangers of urban shamanism

It's almost midnight on Friday,

June 3rd, 2016

when I finally get the chance to eat a butter tart, drink a cold pbr, and give the brand-new Ugggy mixtape,

Legends of the SmoKe

(available online at

http://ugggy.bandcamp.com/album/legends-of-the-smoke

a good once-over.

Here's the first video, for the song Vines

https://youtu.be/4DnoRwgqlh8

)

This mixtape features original lyrical performances and productions by Toronto artists PCK, Timmy No heart, Cosmo Doris, PineappleGland, VELODRONES, Fuzzcoil, King Calm, Sly Why, L.B.F., Chris Love, Uncle P,
some kind of meme or bot called +x÷=

... and of course the titular Ugggy, who grows more geez with every release, although very quickly this music has won me over with its smooth, stylish flows and forward-looking eclectic synthesis.

The solo-artist mixtape format affords Ugggs and his studio crew the ability to go to the really far out and come back down again, maintaining an air of anticipation and almost complete abandon, all within the formal constraints of a hip pop song.

Balanced and various variations on the two-to- three verse jam leave one guessing, and allows listeners to suspend their sonic disbelief with regards to the freeform, full-spectrum canvases into which the valued customers, PCK and UGggY, tend to polish their productions.

I am happy to hear the old pig rapping, missed it on Byugecup. Although that word bitch has to come up...

What are the dangers of urban shamanism? What should you look for as warning signs in your friends and loved ones who may have a taste for hype anthems and esoteric cyphers?

In all honesty, many of these tracks on first listen come off a bit bro-y. Then again, the harmonies on Not too in my Feelings are as earnestly sweet as anything on VuCu's offering Kalpa... With the testosterone rush of '16 in the 6' vocal stylings come capable, shiny club-ready mixes and thoughtful, lurking dance music throughout.

Every time though, that thuggish thrum is swiftly ornamented, counterbalanced, or superseded by noise-jazz riffery, sound collage, and UGggYs hypnotic, panting, breathless, effortless, endlessly wending wordplay, thought swaying in outward-expanding spirals.

But here's the troubling part, and a moment for speculation on what Hugecup is actually going to sound like.

Valued Customer's 2015 release byugecup achieved a proper jazz structure via late sixties Miles gracia the hornwork of Dave"the thunder of" Baldry, which meant song lengths were at least four minutes and at most nine.

This uggy essay in early nineties album forms brings song lengths down to two, three, max five minutes, with an interlude here and there...this trend could lead to something almost completely abstract like They Might Be Giants, thirty second snippets smashed together like Abbey Road. Who is this +x÷=, and who/what do they think they are?

What is the danger? Why do I hate on that word bitch? Though it often accompanies misogyny, my first objection is to the patriarchal hierarchy implied in the dom/sub duality, which implies that those not vying to get on top are weak, and I don't hear the term being flipped on those who currently profit from the subjugation of women, children, racialized peoples, and troublesome minorities the world over.

Stop dropping that language/ power stance and this music could take off into a truly transcendent postmodern genre.
Check Pat's riffs in the outro of this here banger, Purple Caps:

https://youtu.be/bVSv9f6DrGE

Sounds like/ for fans of:

Gravesiggaz
Kool Keith
The dirty version of 36 chambers
Zappa
Kendrick Lamar
JPK
Pierre Henry
Sun Ra
Stockhausen
Bjork
Drake
The weekend
Garlic flavour
Prince
Massive attack

Leash Kids make their debut, etc

At BGP tapes, we're getting very excited about our upcoming releases and musical projects. Here's a rundown of what's on tap(e), and how you can stay tuned to the most tastefully irreverant garbage going down in the Soo this summer.

Mescaline Ditch have finished recording their belated Drone Day side, and will be releasing it this summer, paired with unreleased minimalist productions by the unfamous Sam Mdwara Decter.

Telephone and Address has agreed to have his latest album, Are you or have you Ever Been, released by BGP tapes, and we are so excited. But whatever will that B side be?

Leash Kids, who are playing their first show at Redneck's this Saturday

https://www.facebook.com/events/861776087285082/?ti=cl

have also got something in the can all ready to plop on your stoop. And it will be paired with:

Straight B-sydes, the first collection of original tracks by hip hop artists JPK and Osiris, hitting streets, sidewalks, and parking lots this summer.

And once Toronto's Valued Customer has dropped the Byugecup, left hook to the right jab that Ugggy's mixtape Legends of the Smoke just hit me with, we're gonna chew up their back catalogue and spit it back out just for giggles.

http://ugggy.bandcamp.com/album/legends-of-the-smoke

Roof Dogs, Face Medleys, Soogaze, DJ Miley, political songs about traffic lights and public art, Space Jams with Michael/Jordan, something mega normal like Morgan does, lots more underground and highly concious hip hop and spoken word, synth jams and soundscapes, all laid down on magnetic tape and wrapped up in biohazard bag.

But despite all this manic summer buzz, BGP tapes makes no claims to have the market cornered on cool music in the Soo. Because we know that there's only one person who can say that, and it's YOU

YOU are any age and interested in live music downtown. We have dozens of all ages shows planned this summer at the café, check us out on fb and insta @gorestreetcafe

YOU are an independent or emerging artist looking for help recording, releasing, booking and promoting YOUR music. Please contact us (dmzmgmt@gmail.com) about playing shows, merch, releases, and recording projects. Especially, but not exclusively, if the music YOU make is weird, dark, trippy, spacey, anachronistic, experimental, avant-garde, just plain odd, or chillwave. Freaks stick together.

YOU play an instrument and have originals or covers YOU want to try out in public: Tuesday's Gore Street Open Mic is where YOU want to be! Friendly bohemian vibes and pay-what-YOU-can food and beverages. All ages, all styles, no cover. Every Tuesday 6-10 pm at 164 Gore Street #openduringconstruction.

YOU are a non-musician, who loves discovering new artists and making playlists. In a perfect world, there'd be a college radio station for YOU to host a show on, but in this garbage world, all you've got is us, and we need YOU to make mixtapes and zines, share new fave tunes via handmade charms, and bring some life to the indie scene. Never oversaturated, there's always room in the underworld;-)

I would be remiss if not shouting out to some new friends who've passed through to play the café in the past week. We hosted top-notch acoustic performances and equally lovely visits from Graham Nicholas (Toronto), Logan McKillop (wpg) and the Roger twins, Madeline and Lucas, also from the peg, who have just released their first album as dynamic duo Roger Roger. It was also nice to meet Dave Giulietti, who performs as Cage Bird Free. Catch him hosting an open mic soon.

Sunday, 29 May 2016

Drone day recap

It's two hours till Showtime and my tape is still not ready. Im in a band called Mescaline Ditch, we've been looping tape and building a wall of sound in the underworld aka my basement for the past three months. National drone day, a Canadian tradition for a few years now, is upon us today, and we have no tapes to sell.

We've got one sweaty, busy brunch, though. Nicole put a few new creases in her chefs cap. Asparagus and asiago omelettes and pulled lamb poutine All day. Michael Burtch, local sculptor and percussionist Par excellence, holds court amd prepares for his gong set at 180 projects.

What is this Drone Music? Wikihow defines drone music as "any style or type of music that restricts itself to a minimal number of chord changes"

Trance music

Minimalism

Systems music

Ambient

Drones signal the primal elements of music: the pulse of rhythm within every human body, the growing climaxes of anticipation and velocity, the focus in metaphor of the eternal Now, presence and the moment...

Now it's about two pm and I'm hiding behind Jamie Vincent's big amp drinking a beer. Mikey hands me his phone and tells me to make backwards noises. Occasionally this is how mescaline ditch shows go. We tried to do a set at the Fishbowl Festival but things were even less prepped. Tried to do noise Therapy, ended up sounding like husband material. We've got a Kaoscillator now. Boyd seems to think we're cool.

Mikey and me are smoking later outside the gallery. Inside, Pete Mozarowski is performing an original piano suite. There is a brief window between drone brunch and the 6pm jam at the café. Some of us use this time to sort through vintage freebies and consume beer, a sort of festival atmosphere permeating the sunny street of unity/gore.

The heat beats down, the day drones on, hot and humid. Rihkee Strapp around the hood with us.The drone jam starts late. Our set with Michael Burtch was called off, but I can assure you that everyone at Mescaline Ditch is very committed to bringing avant garde/experimental music to a laundromat near you. Soon!

Chris Shoust shows up at my house with a compact disc in his hand. We head to Barrelhouse, a place on Queen Street that's open past ten. Where Embers used to be. Tasty sliders, cool droney house music, just what you'd expect from an after party with some big kids of the Soo Art scene.

On the way home we find a few discarded fax machines, and get catcalled by high school girls. One time some girls shot a sticky dart at me from a car , and I threw some music papers at them. Not my proudest moment.

It's like midnight, we've returned home and perhaps sent a few embarrassing texts disguised as performance art using white plastic phones and a CPR mask.

the weeks top karaoke tunes:

Mr big, I'm the one who wants to be with you, Suzanne Vega Tom's diner, Sophie B Hawking's, damn, I wish I was your lover

On Sunday night we'll go try these out at Redneck's, but for now it's cafe brunch and backyard rehearsals. The harmonies...!

Around six am I wake up and try to listen to more weird music, but it didn't work. Nation Drone day comes but once a year here in Canada. Happy bday going out to Kylie Minogue.

My heart goes out to the low n slow crew, what with all the construction going on south of Albert and Gore. I love you all. Keep your chin up and stay strong. Thanks to Jackson Reed, Ears and Eyes, Nick Luck, Jason Willet, Dale, Bill, Great Chamberlain, and the 180 projects crew.